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Man in hospital after police use Taser

A man is in hospital with burns after police stunned him with a Taser gun when he doused a Perth house with petrol.

Police said officers went to a house in Helidor Place in Forrestfield at about 8pm (WST) on Sunday after reports of a disturbance.

A 44-year-old man had locked himself inside and was threatening to burn it down.

"He grabbed a petrol can and threw both petrol and the can through the flyscreen at police and spread fuel inside the house," police said in a statement on Monday.

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"A constable's shirt and pants were covered in petrol."

When the man walked toward the kitchen saying he was going to fetch some matches, officers forced their way in and tried to arrest him.

As they did, they used a Taser stun gun to subdue him.

"During the arrest the fuel was ignited and the POI (person of interest) suffered burns to his arms and upper body," the police statement said.

The officers put out the fire and the man was taken to hospital.

The officers were not injured.

"An internal investigation has commenced which will look into the circumstances, including the officers' actions, the use of the Taser and the source of the ignition.

"Police procedures for use of Tasers have been progressively reviewed since the wider rollout of the weapon in 2007 and are currently undergoing a further extensive review.

"That review will include input from an expert in less-than-lethal force options, from the UK's National Police Improvement Agency," the police statement said.

"Under WAPOL's Taser procedures officers are reminded not to use the devices in the near vicinity of flammable liquids or fumes. However, this has to be considered in the context of the threat being faced by the police officers."

Police are yet to interview the man, whose condition is described as stable.